Crate press



Mafch 10, 1936 H PLATT I 2,033,865

CRATE PREV'SS Filed March 13, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l f "17406)? for Ida/2d]! Rad? March 10, 1936. H. PLATT 2,033,865

CRATE PRES S Filed March 13, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 In wen/0r. Leland 7!. all? L. H. PLATT Q 2,033,865

CRATE PRESS March 10, 1936.

Filed March 13, 1929 Q5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 22 wen/0f. Zia/and??? fiat,

atenteet tilt. i l

teams a. t il,

has gelea, Cit, aesiignor to D M. Parker, Riverside, @alii.

1 Application March it, 1929, Serial! lilo ddbbtl 3% (Claims.

My invention relates generally to presses for crating fruit, vegetables and the like, and is more particularly concerned with improvements in the type of, crate presses comprising the subject matter of patents toJohn H. Platt and self, although the invention in certain of its aspects is not limited to use in this particular form or press.

JI'he referred patents'arethose to John H. Platt on Vegetable-crate-cover presses, No. 13%,002, issued Nov. 27, 1917, and Crate presses No. 1,345,8'78fissued July 6, 1920; and also the patent to'Leland H. Platt on Fruit-box-cover presses, No. 1,598,252, issued. Aug. 31, 1926.

i I Generally speaking, the present type oi press is constructed to provide a rest or table for sup porting anuncovered crate, and a vertically movable cover holder above the table and releasably carrying the cover to be applied to the crate, the cover holder beingactuated by suitable means to move downward and press the cover into place on the crater In this procedure, the crate is moved stop in order to remove the crate from the table.

The necessity for manually moving the crate interferes to a certain extent with the continuity of operation, and. especially in cases where provision is made to facilitate continuous and rapid operation by the use of conveyors for delivering the crate to and from the press table and in a general line of movement.

It is a purpose of the present invention to obviate these difficulties by providing an automatically controlled stop for arresting the movement of the crate in cover applying position, the control of the stop being such that at apredetermined point in the travel of the uncovered crate,

( UE, 1W ill and from thepress is am through a conveyor line.

The invention embodies in addition to the automatic stop control mentioned, certain features of improvement in the construction and opera- 5 tion of the cover holder. It is customary in the crating of fruit and vegetables to line the crate with suitable packing paper and thereafter to over-fill the crate, with the result that the cover necessarily must be pressed downward over the top of the crate contents in theprocess of securer before its being pressed on and before it reaches said position, the stop is automatically tripped into place to arrest the movement of the crate at the desired point. Then during the operation of applying the cover to the crate, the stop is caused to be returned and held in its original or crate releasing position in order to permit the crate to be removed from the table.

Thus the movement of the stop is controlled automatically and, as previously mentioned, this system of control'is particularly advantageous in instances where the delivery of the crate to ing the cover to the crate. The lig paper however usually extends upward and outward beyond the sides or the crate to such an extent that normally it would not be folded into the crate 1 and beneath the cover during the applying of the v latter. Also in certain instances the material being crated may project beyond the-sides of the crate, and thus it becomes necessary to gather such overflow into place beneath the cover during its downward movement. To accomplish these results, I have provided what may be termed gathering plates mounted atopposite sides of the cover holder and laterally movable relative thereto. The movement of the gathering plates is such that when the, holder is in an upper position, the plates are spaced a suitable distance from the sides of. the holder, and are spaced a maximum distance apart, and during the down- I ward travel of the cover holder the gathering plates are caused simultaneously to ,move inward toward the holder in a manner such as to gather the packing paper and possible products overflowing the crate, into position beneath the covbe understood that hereinaiten'and in the claims,

the term overflow broadly applies to the pro-- iecting packing paper above the crate or the overflow portion of the products themselves.

The above and numerous additional vfeatures and advantages of the invention will be understood from the following detailed description throughout which reference is made-to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational press embodying the invention;

Fig.2 is a left side elevation oi Fig. 1, parts of the press having no bearing on the invention being broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective 50 view 'of parts of the press associated with the crate rest and showing the automatically controlled stop mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the cover holder shown in Figs. 1 andz;

the crate. It will view of a form of xii Fig. 5 is a section through the cover holder on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a part of the catch arm, hereinafter described.

Referring to the drawings, the press is seen to embody the upright legs iii, liia for supporting the crate rest or table ii. The upper surface of the crate'support is curved centrally and downwardly at 82 to enable the crate bottom to bulge downwardly when pressure is applied to the contents of the crate by the cover carrier, rollers it being mountedat each end of the table to facilitate sliding the crate to and from position thereon. The frame also embodies a pair of spaced vertical supporting members i 4, carrying channels iii on their inner sides, the channels serving as guides for the vertical movable carrier frame it. The latter carries a pair of integral and horizontally extending arms ii to which is secured the coverholder generally indicated at it, and extending above the crate support, the cover holder being curved oppositely to the up per surface of the table. The carrier it is provided with suitable means, hereinafter described, for releasably holding the crate cover 20, and when the carrier frame iii is actuated as will be described, the cover holder moves downward to press the cover 20 in place on the crate 2i supported on the table.

My preferred system for actuating the carrier embodies a plunger cylinder 22 mounted on the horizontal frame plate 23 between guide members M, the cylinder containing a .vertically movable plunger, (not shown) the rod 2d of which is connected at 25 to the lower end of the car; rier frame. The cylinder plunger is actuated by compressedair delivered to the upper end of the cylinder from the supply tank 27. Air is delivered from the supply tank to the upper end of the plunger cylinder through the feed line 28, the flow of air therethrough being regulated by means of valve 29 controlled by the foot lever 30. The discharge line 3| also opens into the cylinder at its upper end, the exhaust through line being controlled by valve 32 which is actuated by means of foot lever 33. Upward movement of the cover carrier is effected by means of the coil springs 35 secured at theirupperends to plate 23 and at their lower ends to the movable carrier frame it.

In applying the cover to the crate, the latter is first placed in position on the table and the cover20 secured to the carrier, the latter being in its uppermost position shown. Valve 29 is actuated by stepping on the foot lever 30, the plunger in cylinder 22 thereupon being caused to move downward to actuate the cover carrier until the cover is in place on the crate. After the cover has .been pressed on the crate and nailed in place, valve 29 is closed and the exhaust valve 32 open,

thereby relieving the air pressure on the plunger,

and permitting springs 35 to lift the carrier upward to its starting position. In Fig. 1, I have shown conveyor lines 36 and 31 for delivering the crate to and from the press table.

In order to arrest the-movement of the crate at a point on the table immediately below the cover, it is necessary to provide a stop for engaging the crate when this point is reached. Heretofore a stationary stop mounted, for instance, on upright ll, has been employed for arresting the movement of the crate, but the use of this form of stop entails the necessity for backing up aoeaeec the crate, after the cover is applied, from the stop and pulling the crate forward on the table to permit it to move on to conveyor 31, thus necessitating reversing the direction of move- Referring particularly to Fig. 3, a stop arm til is pivotally mounted at ill on the vertically extending and off-set frame member t2, the stop being vertically and pivotally movable about point ii and. the inner end Ma. of the stop being adapted to project sufficiently over the table to engage the end of crate 25. The other end of the stop arm is adapted to engage the horizontally movable catch arm or dog M pivotally mounted at 65 on the table member it. A lug Ma is formed on one end of the dog, said lug preferably being shaped to provide a downwardly curved and spherically shaped surface 8%, (see Fig. 7), and upon engagement of the curved surface of the lug by the lower edge Mb of the stop arm, the dog is caused to move'outwardly against the pull of spring 52 until the stop arm moves past the lug, whereupon the dog, by latch action, snaps back into the position shown in Fig. 3, and is retained against shoulder Mic of the lug. The dog thus serves to hold the stop arm in crate releasing position as shown, that is, in a position such as to allow unarrested movement of the crate across the table, and against the pull of spring 50 tending to move the stop to the horizontal position 40c, indicated by the dotted lines.

The dog is operatively connected with the vertical arm or trigger t'l pivotally mounted on the frame supported rod $8 at the opposite end of the table, by means of a suitable connecting means d9, preferably longitudinally collapsible such as a cord or wire. As shown in Fig. 1, the trigger 47 projects above the table and conveyor 36, and a CISJZBLHDOII moving from the conveyor 36 to the table, engages the trigger, moving it to the dotted line position 41a. This movement of the trigger is accompanied by a simultaneous turning of the dog about pivot 45 thereby releasing lug Ma from engagement with the stop arm, and permitting the latter to assume position Mic. The dog is returned to its normal position by means of spring 52, the trigger 41 thereupon being returned to its upright position 41.

Subsequent to the placing of the crate in cover applying position on the table, the carrier I8 is caused to move downward to press the cover into place on the crate, and in order to release the stop from its arresting position during this operation, I have provided a horizontally extending arm mounted on the back side of the carrier frame It, arm 55 being adapted to engage the upper edge of the stop. Thus assuming the stop to be in position Me at the beginning of the downward travel of the carrier, arm 55, at a predetermined point in the travel of the carrier, engages the stop arm moving it to the solid line position, lug Mb being shaped as described to enable the stop arm to force the dog outwardly until the latter is brought back into retaining engagement with the lug by the action of spring 52. The connecting member 49 being collapsible, the trigger remains substantially stationary during th movement of the lever arm to crate releasing position. It may be stated that although it is preferable that the trigger be placed substantially at the location illustrated, it or a similar device may, if desired, be interposed substantially at anypointalong the path of the crate prior to its movement into position.

As previously mentioned, provision is also I made in my improved form of crate press for gathering the overflow of the crate into position beneath the cover prior to the positioning of the latter on the crate. This feature is illustrated particularly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The cover carrier. l8 embodies the curved plate bl carrying a pair of cover holding lugs 58 at the inner side of the cover adjacent the press frame. Arms 59 are pivotally mounted at M on the topside of the cover and have integral lugs Lita adapted to engage and hold the cover in position in the holder, springs iii tending constantly to urge the arms inward toward the holder and lugs 59a into holding engagement with the cover 2%. As shown,

the cover holding arms are laterally movable in A the guide brackets lit.

Extending longitudinally along and normally spaced from the inner and outer sides of the holder plate El, are the laterally movable and vertically extending gathering plates 55 and til, these plates preferably being downwardly and outwardly inclined somewhat. The outer plate 66 is mounted on a longitudinally movable bar iill extending across the cover holder, plate 65 being connected with a similar bar 66 extending part way across the holder top. Bars 61! and 63 have sliding and pivotal connections at hill and it, respectively, with lever arm ll, the latter being pivotally connected to plate til at it. It will be noted that'the pivot point it is offset from the center of arm ll toward the pivot it, this provision being made since it is preferred that for a given length of movement of bar tjl, and therefore the outer gathering plate, comparatively less movement be impartedto bar lit and the inner plate due to the fact that it is desirable to mount the cover holder fairly close to the frame, thereby more or less limiting the space it (see Fig. 2) between the holder and the frame. Thus upon movement of bar t'l in the direction of arrow A, bar $8 is caused to move in the opposite direction, with the result that the gathering plates 65, 66 are caused to move toward the holder and relatively together against the resistance of springs "i l and lb. Upon release of the actuating force applied to bar till hereinafter described, the gath-, ering plates are returned to their original or relatively spread positions by the action of springs it and it.

As a typical means for actuating the gather- I ing plates during the travel of the cover holder,

I have shown the inner end of bar 6? attached at at to chain M passing around pulley wheel 82, mounted on the horizontal frame support rod 83, and anchored to the carrier frame at at. A spring it is interposed in the chain to give to the latter, in eiiect, a certain degree of elasticity in order to' permit continued movement of the cover carrier after any-slack in thechain has been taken up and after the chain has been put under tension. The pulley is located at a'noffset point such that upon downward movement of the carrier, the chain is gradually tensioned and caused to exert a pull on bart'l, thereby causing the gathering plates to gradually move relatively together. c

As previously mentioned, the crate is lined'with packing paper til, the latter spreading outwardly above the uncovered crate as illustrated in Fig. 21

In the operation of the gathering plates, and for a given length of travel of the cover holder, the adjustment of chain ii is such that preferably the inward movement of plates 65 and M3 starts substantially at the point in the travel of the carrier immediately above the upper extent of the paper at. During subsequent downward movement of the carrier the gathering plates move inward toward their limiting positions against the carrier, and serve to gather and hold the paper inward above the crate, and into such position as to be held by the cover 2t when the latter is secured to the crate. Similarly any overflow of the material in the crate as indicated at ilil, would be moved into place beneath'the cover by the gathering plates during their inward travel. Usually, however, the crate is not filled to the extent of overflowing indicated, and the purpose of the gathering plates primarily is to cause the packing paper to be folded into place beneath the cover.

The structure indicated at it has been referred to as both a cover holder and carrier, in the specification and claims. In order to clarify the interpretation to be placed on these terms, it is desired to point out that the expression holder is used to define broadly a means or member operating to engage the cover for applying it to a box, without connoting any capacity for re: ceiving the cover to hold it in elevated position above the box or its contents. The term carrier has this last mentioned meaning, 1. e., it denotes the capacity for supporting the cover in raised position above the box and contents.

It will be understood the drawings and description are to be considered merely as. illustrative of and not restrictive on the broader claims appended hereto, for various changes in design, structure and arrangement may be'rnade without departing from the spirit and scope of said claims.

I claim: I

,1. A press of the character dc icribed embodying a frame, a vertically movable cover holdera a horizontally extending cratesupport beneath said cover holder and across which a crate is adapted to be moved intermittently in one direction, to and from cover applying position beneath said holder, an adjustable stop for arresting the movement of the crate in cover applying position,

means whereby said stop is automatically moved to arresting position substantially at the point.

rectlo'n, to and from cover applying position beneath said holder, an adiustabe stop at one end of said support for arresting-the movement of the crate in cover applying position, a dog adapted to releasably hold said stop in crate releasing position, and means at the other end of said support operatively connected to said dog and adapted to be engaged by the crate to actuate the dog, thereby causing the stop to move "into crate arresting position.

3. A press of the character described embodying a frame, a vertically movable coverholder. a horizontally extending crate support beneath said cover holder and across which a crate is adapted to be moved intermittently in one direction to holder, and adjustable stop at one end of said sup port for arresting the movement of the crate in cover applying position, a dog adapted to releasably hold said stop in crate releasing position, a trigger at the other end of said support having a collapsible connection with said dog and adapted to be engaged by the crate to actuate the dog, thereby releasing said stop and permitting it to move into crate arresting position.

4. A press of the character described embodying a frame, a vertically movable cover holder, a horizontally extending crate support beneath said cover holder and across which a crate is adapted to be moved intermittently in one direction, to and from cover applying position beneath said holder, an adjustable stop at one end of said support for arresting the movement of the crate in cover applying position, a dog adapted to releasably hold said stop in crate releasing position, means at the other end of said support, operatively connected to said dog and adapted to be engaged by the crate to actuate the dog, thereby releasing said stop and permitting it to move into crate arresting position, and means associated with said cover holder adapted to engage said stop to move it to crate releasing position and into retaining engagement with said dog.

5. A press of the character described embodying a stationary frame, a vertically movable frame and a cover holder secured to said movable frame, a horizontally extending crate support beneath said cover holder and across which a crate is adapted tobe moved intermittently in one direc tion, to and from cover applying position beneath said holder, an adjustable and pivotally mounted stop at one. end ofsaid support and adapted to releasably arrest the movement of the crate in cover applying position, a pivotally movable dog adapted to releasably hold said stop in crate releasing position, a trigger at the other end of said support having a collapsible connection with said dog and adapted to be engaged by the crate,.thereby actuating the dog to release said stop to permit it to retum'to its arresting position, and an arm mounted on said movable frame and adapted, upon downward movement of said cover holder, to engage said stop and to move it to releasing position and into retaining engagement with said dog. l

6. The combination in a crate press, embodying a frame, a crate rest adapted to supportan uncovered crate, a vertically movable cover holder above said support, a laterally movable member mounted on said holder and adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder as the latter moves downward, and means for actuating said member.

7. The combination in a crate press, embodying a frame, a crate rest adapted to support an uncovered crate, a vertically movable cover holder above said support, a laterally movable plate extending longitudinally along the outer side of said holder and adapted to move toward the holder as the latter moves downward, to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder, a longitudinally movable bar extending across the top of the holder and attached at its outer end to said plate, and meansfor actuating said bar whereby said plate is caused to move laterally during a predetermined interval of the travel oi tha cover holder.

iL Ihe combination in a crate press, embodying a frame, a crate rest adapted to support an uncovered crate, a vertically movable cover, holder aoaaeet above said support, a pair of laterally movable plates extending longitudinally along outer and inner sides of said holder and adapted to move relatively together as said'cover moves downward, to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder, a longitudinally movable bar extending across the top of the holder and attached to the outer of said plates, means for actuating said bar whereby the last mentioned plate is caused to move laterally during a-predetermined interval of the travel of the holder, and means operatively connecting said bar with the inner plate.

9. The combination in a crate press, comprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover' carrier above said support, said crate rest and cover, carrier being relatively vertically movable, means for moving said crate rest and carrier relatively vertically, a gathering member movable laterally relative to said cover carrier and adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath a cover carried by the carrier as the latter moves relatively toward said crate support and means for automatically actuating said gathering member in its lateral movement in timed relation with the operation oi said first mentioned means.

10. The combination in a crate press, comprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover holder above said support, said crate rest and cover holder being relatively vertically movable, means for moving said crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a gathering member comprising a plate depending below and at one side of the cover holder and movable laterally relative to said cover holder, said member being adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath a cover carried by the holder as the latter moves relatively toward said crate support, and means for automatically actuating said gathering member in its lateral movement in timed relation with the operation of said first mentioned means.

11. The combination ina crate press, comprising, a frame; a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover holder above said support, said crate rest and cover holder being relatively vertically movable, means for moving said crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a pair of gathering members at oppm site sides of said holder and movable laterally relative to said cover holder, said members being adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder as the lattermoves relatively toward said crate support, and means for automatically actuating said gathering members in their lateral movement in timed relation with the operation of said first mentioned means.

12. The combinationin a crate press, comprisprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover carrier above said support, said crate support and cover carrier being' relatively vertically movable, means for moving said crate support and carrier relatively vertically, a gatheringmember movable laterally relative to said cover carrier, and means for moving said member laterally toward a cover carried by said carrier as the carrier moves rela- A tively toward said crate support, and 'for moving said member laterally away from the cover as the carrier moves'relatively away from said crate supp rt, the last mentioned means being operated by virtue of relative vertical moveinentbetween said crate supper-Land the cover carrier.

' osa es Y 13. The combination in a crate press comprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover holder above said support, said crate support and cover holder being movable relatively together to cover applying position to press a cover on the crate, means for movingsaid crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a gathering member movable laterally relative to said cover holder, and means for operating said member to gather the'overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder in ad vance' of the relative movement of said support and holder together to cover applying position and in timed relation withthe operation of the first mentioned means. I

14. A liner tuckingattachment for crate lidding machines comprising in combination, a rel ciprocally operated lidder adapted for pressing a lid upon the crate and'a' tucker carried by the lidder for movement into and out of engagement with one edge of the crate liner whereby to force the liner inwardly of the crate. l

15. A liner tucking attachment for crate lidding machines comprising in combination, a reciprocally operated lidderjadapted for pressing a lid upon the crate, a pair of liner tucking members disposed at opposite sides of the crate for engaging the edges of the liner whereby toforce the same inwardly of the crate, means for slidably mounting one or said members upon said lidder for horizontal sliding movement and means associated with said member for slidably actuating the same in a direction inwardly of the edge of the crate during the downward movement of the lidder.

support, means for moving said crate rest and cover carrier relatively vertically, a laterally mov-' able gathering member included in said structure, the lower portion of said member being,

adapted to move inward toward a cover carried :by the carrier upon relative vertical movement between the carrier and crate rest, togather the overflow oi said crate into position beneath the cover, and means for automatically actuating said member by virtue of relative vertical movement between said cover carrier and the crate rest. ill. The combination in a crate press, mbody ing a frame, a crate rest adapted to support an uncovered crate, a relatively vertically movable structure, including a cover carrier, above said support, means for moving said crate rest and cover carrier relatively vertically, a pair of oppositely' positioned and laterally movable gathering members included in said structure, portions of said members being adapted to move relatively together upon relative vertical movement between the carrier and crate rest, to gather the overflow oi said'crate into position beneath opposite edges of a cover carried by the/carrier, and means for actuating said members.

18. The combination in a crate press, comprising, a irame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, asu'per-structure including a cover holder, above said support, said crate rest and cover holder being relatively vertically movable,- means for moving said crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a pair of oppositely positioned gathering members included in said cover carried by said cover holder, said being adapted to carry a crate cover, means for members comprising depending metallic plates adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath a cover carried by the holder as the latter moves relatively toward said crate support, and means tor-automatically actuating said gathering members in their lateral movement in timed relation with the operation of said first mentioned means. iii. The combination in a crate press, comprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover holder above said support, said crate rest and cover holder being relatively vertically movablermeans for moving said crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a pair of gathering members mounted on and depending below opposite sides of said holder and movable laterally relative to said cover holder, said members comprising vertically extending plates adapted to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath a cover carried by the holder as the latter moves relatively toward said crate support, and means for automatically actuating said gathering members in their lateral movement in timed relation with the operation-oi said first mentioned means.

. 20. 'I'hecombination in a crate press compris-, ing, a crate rest adapted to support an uncovered crate, a relatively vertically movable super-structure above said crate rest, said's'uper-stmcture moving said crate'rest and super-structure relatively vertically, a gathering member mounted on said super-structure, the lower portion or said member being movable upon relative vertical movement between the super-structure and the crate rest, to gather the overflow of the crate into position beneath a cover carried by the super-structure, means carriedby said superstructure above the lower portion of said gathering member for engaging opposite edges of :a cover to position the latter, and means for automatically actuating said member by virtue of relative vertical movement between said superstructure and the crate rest.

21. in a box lidding device the combination oi: means for receiving a lid, in position for applying it to a box; means for conveying a box horizontally beneath said lid receiving means and stopping it with said lid superimposed thereabove; lid applying means for bringing said lid receiving means and said conveying means together to apply said lid to said box in position for nailing itthereto; and means provided on said lid receiving means for tucking fruit and the like inward from edges of said box to prevent it being crushed between said box and said lid.

v22. In a box holding device, the combination of: means for receiving a lid in position for applying it to a box; means for conveying a box horizontally beneath said lid receiving means and stopping it with said lid superimposed there= above; lid applying means i'or bringing said lid receiving means and said conveying means together to apply said lid to said box in position for nailing it thereto; means provided on said lid receiving means lor tucking fruit and the like inward from edges oi said boar to prevent it being crushed between said box and said lid; and means actuated by said lid applying means tor operating said tucking means. 70 23. In combination: a trance; means on said A frame for supporting a shipping case crown paclredwith fresh lruit or the-like; a structure on said irame'rising above said case supporting means; lid applying means mounted on said structure and overlying said supporting means; means for moving one of the aforementioned means toward the other to apply a lid to said case; and tucking means mounted with said lid applying means on said structure and actuated by said moving means, in timely relation with the lid applying operation, to move an overflow of the contents of said case inward between said lid and saidcase before the consummation of said operation.

24. In combination: means for receiving and supporting a box filled with produce so that the latter extends above the top of the box; means for acting upon a lid applied to said box to arch said lid to bring opposite edges of said lid downwardly; means for tucking said produce inwardly between opposite edges of said box and adjacent edges of said lid; and means for coordinately operating said lid-arching means an said tucking means.

' the planes of opposite inner faces of said box before a substantial downward pressure has been brought against outer portions of said produce by said lid-arching means.

26. In combination: means for positioning a box of farm produce with the produce extending above the top otthe box and with a lid positioned thereabove; means for arching said lid downwardly against said produce so as to depress opposite edges of said lid; and means operatively connected to said lid-arching means for automatically tucking said produce inside of the planes of inner faces of the sides of said box before a substantial downward pressure has been'brought against outerportions of said produce by said lid-arching means.

.27. The combination in a crate press, comprising, a frame, a crate support adapted to support an uncovered crate, a cover holder above said support, said crate rest and cover holder being relatively vertically movable, means for moving said crate rest and holder relatively vertically, a gathering member movable laterally aosasee relative to said cover holder, and means for moving said member laterally toward said holder as the holder moves relatively toward said crate support, and for moving said member laterally away from the holder as the latter moves relatively away from said crate support, the last mentioned means being operated by virtue of relative vertical movement between said crate support and the coverholder.

28. The combination in a crate press, embodying a frame, a crate. rest adapted to support an uncovered crate, a relatively vertically movable cover holder above said support, means for moving said crate rest and cover holder relatively vertically, a pair of laterally movable gathering members mounted on and extending longitudinally along opposite sides of said holder,

said members being adapted to move relatively together upon relative vertical movement between the holder and crate rest, to gather the overflow of said crate into position beneath the holder, and means for actuating said members.

29. In a box liddingdevice the combination of: means for engaging a lid for applying it to a box; means for conveying a box horizontally beneath said lid engaging means and stopping it with'said lid engaging means superimposed thereabove; lid applying means for-bringing said lid engaging means and said conveying means together to apply said lid to said box in position for nailing it thereto; and means provided on said lid engaging means for tucking fruit and the like inward from edges of said box to prevent it being crushed between said box and said lid.

30. In a box lidding device the combination of: means for engaging a lid for applying it to a. box; means for conveying a box horizontally beneath said lid engaging means and stopping it with said lid engaging means superimposed thereabove; lid applying means for bringing said lid engaging means and said conveying means together to-apply said lid to said box in position for nailing it thereto; means provided on said lid engaging means for tucking fruit and the like inward from edges of said box to prevent it being crushed between said box and said lid, and means actuated by said lid applying means for operating said tucking means.

LELAND H. PLATT. 

